Dead Men Should Tell No Tales
by Heti330
Summary: Larten Crepsley and Darren are taken from their comfy place in paradise and are placed in a strange time and place. What does destiny have in store for them?    What do you think? Should I keep going? Review! and please don't kill me...
1. Prolouge

All was good. All was peaceful. All was clear. Paradise was stretched before me, its never ending wonders taking hold. Reunions were aplenty and laughter was ripe. It was the best feeling I had ever had the pleasure of having. But that all stopped when one day a dark cloud loomed over us all and a familiar presence was shown. Destiny. As destiny's will sought it plucked my mentor and I from our haven and dropped us in an unknown time, in an unknown place.

I screamed, terrified as I was taken from my safe home of purity and was absorbed by the black mass, my mentor stared back at me in equal terror as he too was taken away. We suddenly fell. Down, down, down. Spinning all the while until we connected with cold, hard ground.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Its been three weeks since that day and Mr Crepsley and I have been surviving by drinking from random drunks and taking whatever money may be on them. The currency of this place is so unfamiliar to me but Mr Crepsley seemed to recognise it slightly. We've been trying our best to keep contact with people to a minimum unless we're drinking from them or buying supplies that are essential for our survival. Mr Crepsley says he wants to figure out why we are here before we try to interact with the world. However there is only so much isolation a person can take before curiosity gets the better of them.

It was a gloomy afternoon and Mr Crepsley was sleeping at a camp we had set up in a cave. I say 'camp' but really it was just a bunch of twigs to make a fire and huddling under Crepsley's cape to keep warm. Which neither of us found amusing in the slightest. I sat outside the cave staring at the sky and fiddling with a few coins in my hand. I tried my best to stop myself from sleeping at all, thinking of the nightmare that would be waiting for me in the darkness of my mind. The nightmare that reminded me of that day.

_The pain racked through my entire body. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. I could only lie there broken, cold and exposed as I watch the scenery in front of me unfold. I was vaguely aware of a piece of fabric being placed over me. It's scent was familiar and its colour even more so. The blood red colour betraying the very person I couldn't see. I tried to speak but the only sound that emerged was a dry gasp. Tears streamed down my face as I silently called for the one that could comfort me. Just a glimpse of his features was all I needed, just to confirm that he was actually there and not a cruel trick. My silent cries were heard as his silhouette entered my frame of vision. It was unmistakeably him. The unnatural orange hair, the pale skin, the trademark scar running down his face to his lip. My sire. My mentor. My friend. Mr Crepsley. I whispered his name, the first words I uttered and I repeated it as if it was a prayer, gradually getting louder and louder as he crouched in front of me and wiped the tears from my eyes. Each time I spoke his name I felt power rush through my body and soul until I was screaming at the top of my lungs and clinging to his neck as he hugged me back tightly. Both of us scared and confused but at least not alone._

My frame shivered as I recalled the emotions of that day, how I had practically fallen back into infancy, petrified of this unknown place whilst slowly forgetting the pure and loving haven from which I was torn from.

_Destiny is such an ass._ I thought to myself. Three weeks and we still had no idea _where _or more importantly _when _we were. Looking into the distance from the cliffs where I sat I noticed small forms in the distance.

"A town..." I mumbled looking at the coins in my hand.

_I shouldn't._ My mind warned me as I stared back at Mr Crepsley's sleeping form. _It's too dangerous._

Looking again at the town and the coins I felt an internal tug in my being. "No" I spoke aloud. I shuffled my feet on the small stones on the cliff surface and bit my lip.

_If I'm back before sunset he won't even know I was gone._ I thought. _It's just for a minute. _I stood slowly and quietly and with a grunt jumped from the ledge onto a lower one and repeated the motion until I was at the bottom of the cliff. I was only going to be gone for a moment, I just wanted to assess our surroundings. Mr Crepsley was the one who always went into town to buy provisions because many of the stores were open at night, that and he knew the currency better than I did.

Walking into town no one seemed to second glance me even though I was walking barefoot in a pair of torn trousers and a bloody shirt which was once white.

_Strange. _I thought _You think people would be slightly interested._

Shrugging it off I wondered around some more taking in the old style buildings made mainly from timber.

_Wherever we are..._ I thought circling round _We sure as hell aren't in Kansas any more._

Spotting a tavern door I decided to check it out. I wasn't going to learn much about the people of this place standing outside. Walking through the doors a foul smell hit me and almost had me vomiting on the floor. Holding strong I walked up to the bar of the tavern where a large man was standing in what appeared to be a bloody apron and judging by his size the blood wasn't his.

He was bald and had a large scar across his face cutting through his left eye leaving him half blind. "What d'you want?" He asked gruffly and I couldn't help but cringe slightly at the sound of his voice. It was a sound that just made your back shiver like nails on a chalkboard. When I didn't answer he raised an eyebrow as if to say _Well?._

"Uh..." I stuttered slightly causing him to grin maliciously "What do you have?".

"Rum" he answered bluntly.

"Alright I'll have that" I said not entirely bothered just wanting someone to talk to. The man then disappeared for several minutes before coming back with a small tankard of the clear liquid.

"Caribbean rum" he boomed slamming the tankard on the table "Three farthings". Holding out the coins in my hand I picked out three small pennies and handed them to the man in which he grunted and walked away to kick out a drunk man starting a fight.

"That's enough for you" I heard him say as the man stumbled out the door as another walked in. Looking at the clear liquid in front of me I took a sip and choked as the sweet liquid burned my throat. Placing down the tankard I grabbed my neck and coughed.

_Man this is even stronger than the ale at vampire mountain._

Suddenly I felt someone patting my back as the burning in my throat subsided. When I could breathe normally I looked behind me to see who it was that was patting my back. Expecting to see the barman I was surprised to see a small portly man with greying hair, a goatee and muttonchops. He was wearing a white cotton shirt with an open blue waistcoat hanging beside his belly. The shirt was covered in mud stains and his pants were the same. He also wore a pair of thick leather boots and not to mention he smelt _awful_. I instantly went on high alert and tensed at his touch. I didn't know this man, I couldn't trust him. He pulled away slowly his blue eyes filling with confusion before he dismissed my reaction and sat next to me.

"A gill of your finest Caribbean rum please" He ordered the barman placing three farthings on the bar which the barman picked up with a grunt placing a tankard in front of the man.

"Your first time drinking rum boy?" He asked me casually glancing at me as I rubbed my throat.

"Uh...yeah" I stuttered not sure whether to speak to him but he seemed nice enough, that and I needed to know more about this place. The man looked at me quite surprised before speaking again.

"How old are you boy?". I paused when he asked this, in reality I was about forty years old but on the outside I looked about eighteen so I figured this would have to be the answer.

"Eighteen" I mumbled and his eyes seemed to grow wide.

"Eighteen and you've not had a drop of rum before?" He gasped as if it was a sin "Boy, where have you been all of your life?"

I laughed this off before telling him "Stop calling me boy" I then shook his hand "My name is Darren"

"Gibbs" he said with a grin "Joshamee Gibbs". Returning to my tankard of rum I wondered whether or not I should drink it.

_Meh I paid for it anyway might as well drink it. _I thought.

Taking another long gulp I fought back the coughs and gags wanting to escape. Gibbs watched with a grin on his face while he drank his with no problem. I glared at him in envy and he laughed even more so at my expression. Patting my back again as I went into a coughing fit he laughed at me some more before saying

"Aye takes awhile to get used to the taste Darren." While in the coughing fit I heard a men next to me order his drink and I nearly choked again when I heard what it was.

"A tankard of your finest ale mate" He said with a grin.

"They sell ale here?" I groaned hitting my head against the bar.

"You didn't know that?" Gibbs asked a confused expression on his face.

"If I had I would be drinking _that_ right now" I groaned in defeat.

_Dammit all..._ I thought.

"In that case" Gibbs laughed "Barman a tankard of ale over here for my friend".

"But I don't have much money" I complained to Gibbs.

"Don't worry" Gibbs grinned "I'll be the one paying for it".

"You don't have to do that" I said holding my hands up in front of me "I couldn't ask you to do that".

"Don't have to Darren" He replied "It's what friends do" The tankard of ale was placed in front of me while Gibbs paid for it.

_Friends? But we've just met. _I thought confused.

Taking a gulp of the familiar full bodied liquid I sighed as I slouched in my seat.

"That's more like it" I sighed "Its been awhile since I've tasted this".

"Nice to see that you like it" Gibbs smiled "So have you just came here?, I've never seen you before"

I froze in my seat when I heard him ask this.

_Crap! What the hell am I supposed to say? _I panicked in my head.

"Uh I'm travelling through with my dad" I mumbled hoping he wouldn't look into it any further.

"Where is your father?" he asked an inquisitive look on his face.

_Dammit all!_

"Uh...he's getting supplies for our travels" I replied "I'm to meet him back at the camp so we can get ready to leave"

Gibbs nodded in understanding as I told him this.

"Pity" he mumbled under his breath.

"Why so?" I asked and he seemed to jump at the fact I had heard him.

"Um...don't listen to me it's just the drink talking" he said appearing flustered.

_Interesting... _I thought as I took another drink from my tankard finishing it off.

Looking out of the window on my right I noticed the sun beginning to set.

_Mr Crepsley will be waking up soon. _I thought standing up.

"It was nice meeting you Gibbs but I have to meet with my dad now" I said walking away while waving. All the while neglecting to look in front of me.

I was stopped in my tracks when I bumped into a running man who had burst through the doors of the tavern.

"Pirates!" he screamed at the top of his lungs "Pirates are here!".

In the space of less than three seconds everyone was up and running towards the door to try and run away. The man who had screamed at us in warning however just stood there in the same spot, not moving. I touched his shoulder to try and break him out of his trance but quickly pulled away when he slowly fell to the ground lying on his stomach and a hatchet buried deep in his spine.

"Darren!" I heard Gibbs shout for me and I turned to see him standing at the door waving people out "Come on!".

I nodded leaving the man lying on the ground in a pool of his blood and running out of the tavern with Gibbs leading the way.

_Mr Crepsleys' POV_

Yawning I stood up and scratched the scar on my cheek.

"Charna's guts" I groaned "My back". I straightened my back out and hissed in pain when I felt it crack. Sighing I made my way to the entrance of the cave where Darren should be preparing dinner. Or in my case breakfast. Pausing I sniffed the air to try and guess what it was, but was surprised when I smelt nothing.

_Odd..._

Walking out of the cave anxiety filled my heart when I saw that Darren was not there.

"Darren!" I yelled for him hoping he had just gone for a walk in the wilderness and hadn't wandered far. I growled much like a wolf when I looked into the distance to see a small town.

"That imbecile!" I groaned palming my face. I looked once again at the town and sighed.

_Curiosity killed the cat or in this case the half-vampire._

I jumped from the ledge and onto another one getting closer and closer to the town. As I grew closer I became aware of the sound of the town and when I heard it a chill ran up my spine. Screams. Screams of all kinds. Loud, quiet, high, low, fear filled, anger filled and more. However one scream stood out from all the rest; it was a battle scream, a defending scream. It was Darren's scream. Picking up the pace I ran towards this cry with all my might.

_Darren's POV_

Gibbs grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the crowd of people to try and find a back road that we could use and not be detected. Looking around I saw many men running through the streets killing anyone who got in their way and just for a brief moment their skin seemed to turn a deep purple and their eyes a hellish red, they were not pirates any more, but vampaneze. Clutching my head in pain I tried to shake the image from my mind, to remove those painful memories that still haunted my very being. I stumbled and fell to the ground and I vaguely felt Gibbs pulling me to my feet and dragging me away.

"Focus Darren focus!" He screamed at me and I shook my head and continued running. As we turned into a back road I heard a commotion within a small house and stopped and turned my head to look into the window.

"Darren what're you doing?" Gibbs shouted franticly pulling on my arm "It's too late for them we have to go!"

However my body did not move; frozen as I watched a large man, his face scarred and his clothes tattered as he descended on a small boy and his family. My eyes were looked onto the young boy. He had a cherub face, light blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was huddled tightly against his mother's chest. As the pirate drew closer he morphed and changed. He started slouching, his hair growing and changing to a silver gleam, his nose lengthened and changed to a snout and his teeth grew into sharp fangs. The pirate I had one saw was now the Wolfman, the house was now a set of old railway lines and huddled in the corner was a now alone, Sam Grest.

_No!_ I screamed in my head _This can't be real!_

Not thinking about what I was doing I turned to Gibbs and grabbed his sword from the sheath on his waist.

"Darren!" He screamed "Are you mad?".

I ignored him as I smashed the cottage window startling all of those inside and lunged for the pirate screaming as loud as I could.

_Mr Crepsley's POV_

Dodging the racing village people I looked for the source of the scream. Was that glass shattering? I couldn't tell over all this damn noise!

"Darren!" I called at the top of my lungs "Darren!" I can't have lost him, I can't have!. Not after only just finding him.

"Darren!" I screamed again running past the petrified people running my way. I couldn't locate him; There was too much noise for me to hear him, the entire place smelt like alcohol and there was too many people for me to see him. I was beginning to give up hope.

_No do not think like that _I chided myself _Darren is strong he will be alright...I hope._

The scared townsfolk began to disperse as a large group of men in tattered clothes and swords drawn, smelling completely of alcohol and blood ran after them. However a few of them stopped when they saw me.

"Hey" a large man chuckled darkly "Look what we got 'ere".

I tensed, ready to fight if necessary watching them with slitted eyes as they all looked me over.

"What kind o' dandy is ee?" another said slurring his words as he drank from a metal flask.

"From the look o' im i'd say a rich dandy" yet another said pulling out his gun "That cape silk mate?"

My eyes stayed slitted and my body still as I tried to decide a best course of action.

_I may be fast but even I cannot dodge a bullet _I thought shifting my vision to the next man. He was drunk and he could barely stand up, a fairly easy target and finally the last man. His stare was cold and fully concentrated on me. Judging by the scars on his face I would have to say that he had had his fair share of battles, he was not going to drop his guard easily.

"Oi" the gunman pushed "I asked you a question, is it or ain't it?".

I grinned maliciously as a plan formed in my head and I slowly replied the smile unfaltering.

"Why yes it is".

Before he could pull the trigger I ran towards them at great speed fluttering my cape in front of me, the blood red colour against the moonlight stunning them momentarily. While stunned I kicked the drunk man's feet from under him causing him to topple and grab the large man, pulling him down with him. Keeping my cape out I grabbed the gun from the grasp of the gunman and threw it in the window of a nearby building. Putting my cape down I punched the gunman and smiled as I heard a sickening crack from his jaw. The drunk man had already passed out from the fall. Now all that was left was the large man who was now slowly getting to his feet.

_I better finish this quickly _I reminded myself _I still need to find Darren. _

I ran towards the man and jumped above him causing him to curse in surprise.

"Now, now" I tutted "Watch...your...MOUTH!". On the final word I had stuck my leg out and struck him in the face causing him to fall limply to the ground. The three men lay still on the ground, dead or unconscious I did not care. The only thing that mattered was finding Darren.

"Darren!" I cried again walking around trying to hear him, smell him anything!.

"Over here!" I heard an unfamiliar voice shout and I jumped into a alleyway and came face to face with a small man with slick silver hair, muttonchops and a blue waistcoat. He gasped slightly at my presence and I leaned down slowly coming face to face with his blue eyes.

"Where is Darren?" I growled and shakeably he pointed out a small cottage on the other side of the alley. The window had been smashed in and there was a large amount of noise coming from it. A scream sounded, the voice all to familiar, only this time it was a scream of pain.

_Darren..._

Ignoring the man's warning I shot off into the distance towards the cottage and jumped through the window and what I saw next made my blood boil.

Darren was pinned onto the floor with a large scabby man atop him. The man was digging a dirty blade into Darren's forearm. He screamed in pain tears streaming down his face as the man simply laughed at him with glee. Looking to my left I spotted a blade on the floor and picked it up motioning to the mother and father in the corner to cover their children's eyes. Walking up behind the man silently, my feet not making the slightest of sounds on the old floorboards I raised the blade.

"You think you can challenge me ya little runt?" the man giggled "Pah!".

"You are such a pathetic little wel-" He did not finish his sentence, as I plunged the blade through his back deep into his chest cavity making well sure to get the heart. The man gasped and choked as he looked at me wide eyed the blood pouring from his mouth and for a split second I was sure I saw Murlough in his features. The man fell limp by Darren who by now had passed out from the pain. Pulling the blade slowly from his arm I tore a strip of fabric from my shirt, not trusting the pirates greasy clothes and wrapped it around his arm as a makeshift bandage. Carrying him in my arms bridal style I walked out to see the small grey haired man waiting for me.

"He alright?" he asked concern on his features. I cocked an eyebrow at him wondering why he cared. He spied the wound on Darren's arm and quickly blurt out.

"I know someone who can heal his wound!" I stared at him more intently, he seemed trustworthy enough and I did not have many other choices.

"Who?" I asked him.

"A healer, a sorceress of sorts" He babbled taking my shoulder and leading me to a small boat "She lives not too far down the swamp I can take you there if you like"

I stared at him and then the boat, then back to him.

_Like I have much of a choice..._

"Alright" I nodded looking at Darren's pale face "Take us there".


	3. Chapter 2

_Mr Crepsley's POV_

Sitting in the small rowing boat with Darren strewn across my lap still unconscious I looked at the small man rowing. His expression was very uneasy as was mine, the swamp around us seemed to move with us as if following us so we would never escape. I looked down at Darren's still features and watched as they winced occasionally from the pain in his arm. I glanced at the wound on his forearm, it was still bleeding profusely and I was quickly running out of shirt to give him. Clenching my fists tightly I looked back at Darren's face.

'Dammit Darren what made you do something this rash?' I thought as he winced once more. I again looked at the small man who was also looking at Darren, his features thick with worry as he also seen Darren wince. I couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at him, Why did he seem to care so much about Darren?

I sat up and tensed slightly as the small man cleared his throat, then relaxed when he only asked for my name.

"Larten Crepsley" I replied my voice monotonous "And what is your name may I ask?"

"Joshamee Gibbs" He stated smiling slightly though anxiety still clear on his features "But you can just call me Gibbs"

I lightly nodded at him and looked down at Darren again as he whimpered in pain. The sound of him in such pain made my blood boil and I couldn't help but snarl at the thought of that scab of a man having the audacity to hurt him. Gibbs, having heard my snarl, jumped back and began to row faster as if trying to row away from me even though we were in the same boat. My features softened at his frightened state, as angry as I was he did not deserve it and if it had not been for him I wouldn't have found Darren.

"I apologise for my sudden outburst" I said calmly locking eyes with him "I am only angry at the one who did this to Darren, You have no need to be afraid as I will not hurt you".

He relaxed slightly and slowed down his rowing but it was clear that he was still nervous of my presence.

"Of course" He replied quietly "It's just when I saw you fight those three men..." He trailed off looking down at his feet nervously. My mind then drifted to the three men I had defeated in the small village.

"Well" He continued "I can tell that you've fought many times before, that scar on your cheek proves that".

I blushed slightly when he mentioned my scar and thanked the vampire gods that Darren was not awake at that moment. He would have had a field day telling him where that scar really came from. I wonder how Evanna is coping with her children. I nodded at Gibbs statement before I asked him the question that had been plaguing my mind since we had left the port of that small village.

"How is it that you know Darren?" I asked as I wrapped my cape around said shivering boy.

"Oh" Gibbs replied surprised by my question "I just met him today in the tavern".

I could barely conceal my surprise on my face at his answer.

'They only met today?, Then why is he helping him?' I thought, my mind not truly taking in the answer.

"Why do you help him?" I asked him hoping to get an explanation "If you only met today?".

This time Gibbs was slow to answer my question and when he did so he stuttered.

"W-well h-he's a nice young lad" he answered his eyes shifting at his surroundings "A-a-and I-I would've hated t-to see him get hurt"

My eyes slitted at him, he was hiding something. I could tell by the way he continuously shifted his eyes avoiding my gaze. However before I could interrogate him any further he quickly blurted out

"So you're Darren's father eh?". I looked at him a little shocked before I looked at Darren and smiled "I suppose you could say that".

Gibbs nodded "He says you're travellers" he stated.

"This is true" I replied to him before slitting my eyes again, He was trying to avoid my questions, I was desperate to find out what he was hiding.

"It's not much longer" Gibbs said rowing harder as he eyed Darren's still bleeding wound. As I ripped off another scrap of shirt and wrapped it around his arm I cursed that the wound was too large to be healed by my saliva. If it was not I could have healed it and would not be stuck in a small boat in the middle of a swamp with a man who was hiding a potentially deadly secret. It sounded like a plot from one of the many idiotic horror films that Darren used to watch and end up giving himself nightmares.

"So this healer..." I started "What kind of sorceress is she?".

Gibbs appeared a little too pleased at the change of subject which made me all the more wary of him.

"Aye" He grinned "She is a woman of many powers, she'll fix up that wound easily".

"Her name?" I questioned rubbing my scar and thinking of Evanna again.

"Ah!" he said slapping his forehead "I forgot to tell you that, Her name is Tia Dalma".

"Tia Dalma?" I repeated her name, what a strange name it was but then again so was Joshamee Gibbs.

"Oh but I must warn you that she can be a bit..." He started having trouble finding the right word.

"A bit what?" I asked hoping she wasn't too much like Evanna.

"Eccentric" He said smiling. Probably proud of himself that he actually knew a word more than two syllables long. I nodded at him and took his warning, taking a look around the swamp. I heard a shifting in the water but ignored it thinking it was a fish until I heard it get louder and louder. Whatever it was it was a lot bigger than a common fish and it was heading straight for us.

"Gibbs!" I yelled at him and he stared at me in shock "There's something underwater you need to-"

I could not finish my cry as I felt something slam against the bottom of the boat and was tipped over board. The water was thick and dark and I could barely move, the only thing I could understand was that there was weight no longer on my lap.

'Darren!" the name screamed in my head practically vibrating through my skull. I looked around trying to find him in the dark depths. I was running out of air and the already dark waters were getting darker. I quickly swam up to the surface and took in a gulp of air.

"Larten!" I heard Gibbs scream "Get out of the water!".

I searched around until I saw him on a nearby bank with Darren by his side. He was still unconscious but alive at least. I relaxed. At least he was safe.

"Didn't you hear me!" Gibbs screamed again "Get out of the water now!".

The danger of the situation descended upon me when I remembered that the reason I was in the water was that something had pushed us out of the boat. Gibbs kept screaming at me while I swam as fast as I could towards the bank. Each stroke I swam I felt the water behind me shift as the large creature grew closer towards me at great speed.

My hands reached the banks and Gibbs grabbed me and began to pull me up. Darren was safe, Gibbs was safe, I was safe. We were all safe. I looked at Gibbs shocked expression and began laughing. Slowly his shocked expression dissipated and he began laughing as well.

"That was clo-" I started, then began to roar in pain as I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I looked back and screamed again in pain when the alligator bit down harder upon my leg.

"Larten!" Gibbs yelled and reached for my hand.

However, he was not fast enough as the alligator pulled upon my leg and I was dragged back into the watery depths. The pain was intense as I tried to pull away, my flesh was being torn and I was aware of a red mist in my vision. I screamed in agony, losing all the air I had left in my lungs. I was sure to die. The world around me slowly began to disappear and I was vaguely aware of a scream and a bright light. Then. Nothing.


	4. Chapter 3

_Darren's POV_

_'Uh, my head..., it feels like someone hit me with a desk'_ I thought, my head throbbing, my brain felt like it was bouncing off my skull with the force of ten thousand vampires. I took a deep breath through my nose, several weird scents were drifting through the air, some sweet, some musky but all strong.

_'Incense?'_ I thought confused _'Just where the hell am I?'._

I kept my eyes closed, scared of what I might see. I took another deep breath but this time the scent caught at the back of my throat and I was forced into a coughing fit. I sat up, choking and coughing, gasping for air. I was aware of footsteps fast approaching me and I felt a familiar hand upon my back. Slowly I opened my eyes, having trouble adjusting to the bright light. I looked up to my side to see a familiar mutton-chopped man rubbing my back.

"Gibbs?" I choked out, my voice weak and hoarse, it felt like I'd swallowed the ocean. I held my hand to my aching throat trying to get the last of the coughs out of my system. I looked up at Gibbs before gasping for water. He nodded and then quickly headed to the other end of the room. I took this time to asses my surroundings. I appeared to be in an old shack of some kind. Hanging from ropes were a collection of oddities. Was that a shrunken head?, I didn't want to think about it. The room was only lit by candles, yet they seemed to burn so bright that they blinded me. The room had a yellow tinge from the candle light and the shadows of the room seemed to warp and change. Was that a hand?. Shaking the image from my mind I looked back at Gibbs who was now walking towards me with a small mug. I took it from him and gulped it down, trying to remove the taste of salt from my tongue. When the mug was gone I passed it to Gibbs, but was shocked by the sound of smashing. I looked down at my hand and found that the mug was now shards of pottery. My eyes widened as I looked down at the shards on the floor.

'But...I wasn't even holding it that hard' I thought in confusion as Gibbs bent down and began picking up the shards.

"Sorry" I whispered to him "I didn't mean to break it" I felt a flush of embarrassment rose to my face as he picked up the last few pieces.

"S'alright Darren the mugs here are old and useless, they break easily" He smiled lightly at me and I felt relief.

'The cup was just old' I thought 'Anyone could have broken it'. I smiled back at Gibbs widely. His smile stayed thin and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his lack of emotion. Ignoring it I cleared my throat and asked him, "So, How long was I unconscious?".

"Two days" he replied, his voice monotonous. My eyes widened again.

"Two days?" I repeated in question to which he simply nodded. I looked down onto the surface of the large table which I had been stretched across when I was unconscious.

'What happened?' I thought confused as I clutched my head, trying to remember the events before my passing out. I remembered meeting Gibbs and having a drink with him in the tavern, I remembered the pirates invading, I remembered fleeing from the village but after that it was a blur. Through the blur I could see a small blond boy with a cherub face.

'Sam...' I thought. My thought was cut short from a sharp pain shooting through my skull. I screamed in agony clutching my head. I could vaguely feel through the pain Gibbs arms wrapping around me. The memories came flooding back. The small boy and his family being cornered by a pirate. Or was it the wolfman?. Me jumping through the window of the small house...

_I roared in anger as I jumped through the window of the small cottage, the pirate or was it wolfman?, turned in surprise as he heard my shout. My blood was boiling, rage was searing through my system. He wasn't going to hurt Sam, I wouldn't let him die. Not again!. I swung out at my opponent with the sword, planning to strike a deadly blow. My opponent, who had been shocked by my sudden appearance, parried my attack._

"_What the hell kid?" he shouted at me in surprise. I did not reply, adrenaline was running through my veins, my entire soul ripe with anger. I simply screamed and swung again, again he parried. He kicked me to the floor were the boy had been sitting with his family. The family had moved far into the corner on the other side of the room. A feral growl escaped my lips as I stared up at the man above me. _

"_What d'you think you're doing?" he laughed maliciously pointing the tip of his sword to my throat "Challenging a pirate?". I growled at him in response, I lunged for him again, manoeuvring around his sword. With fury in my eyes I grabbed his legs and pulled him down. He landed with a thud on the floor. I forced the sword from his grasp and jumped onto his chest. He lay there on his back, fear in his eyes as both swords were held at opposite sides of his throat. I grinned malevolently at him, ready to strike the killing blow._

"_What do you think you're doing?" I hissed "Challenging a v-". _

_Without warning, I heard a large smash from the opposite end of the room. I looked over to the smashed window and spotted a small gun lying on the floor. I shouldn't have gotten distracted, I should have kept my eyes on that bastard. I didn't. It happened within a matter of seconds. I was flipped onto my back and a foot was pressed down on my chest. Before I could speak I was greeted by a agonising pain in my left forearm. I screamed in pain as I saw the pirates dirty blade being forced into the flesh and bone. The blood was gathering around the rusted metal and slowly overflowing from the wound like a scarlet river. I looked around the room for the other blade and my heart sank when I spied it on the other side of the room, too far away for me to get it. The pirate applied an even greater force to the blade causing me to whimper and scream again. Tears began to fall down my cheeks and I cursed myself for showing weakness in front of this piece of scum._

"_You think you can challenge me ya little runt?" he giggled "Pah!". _

"_You are such a pathetic little wel-" The sound of a blade piercing flesh, muscle and bone interrupted his gloat as a piece of rusted metal appeared from the centre of his chest. The pressure on the blade in my arm decreased as he turned around to the assailant who had stabbed him. I stared back at the blade in my arm and the blood that was now staining the floor. I could hear my breathing, it was louder than the terrified screams of the village people. The world was turning black and I felt myself slipping into the land of unconsciousness. I vaguely felt myself being embraced by strong arms, I looked up to the face of my saviour and just before I passed out I hazily noticed the strange trademark orange coloured hair. _

_'Mr Crepsley...' _I sighed in my head, feeling drained. He'd saved my life...again. Was I so weak that I needed him for everything?, No, I wasn't, I couldn't be, When he had first died I fought on by myself, without him. But, then again, I always had help. Didn't I?. Vancha, Harkat, Evra and the others. Now it was just Mr Crepsley and myself, I had to fight alone, But I should have been able to handle one stinking pirate!. I glanced down at my forearm which was now bandaged and healing, I touched it lightly and grimaced.

_'Damn, that hurts' _I cursed in my mind. I looked up at Gibbs who's arms were still wrapped around me. He looked down on me, his face plastered with worry.

"I'm fine now" I said nudging him slightly to get him off me. He unwrapped his arms and stepped back, I looked around the room, searching until I finally asked Gibbs.

"Where's Mr Crepsley?" I looked at him confused as to why Mr Crepsley hadn't been there when I woke up. However Gibbs looked just as confused as I was.

"Mr Crepsley?" He said raising an eyebrow "You call your father by his name?".

I choked then, mentally slapping myself for letting that slip. In an attempt to make him ignore it I just shrugged my shoulders and asked him again where he was. Gibbs suddenly went silent, and I knew straight away that I didn't like it. I asked him again, but he simply stood there like a child who was being heavily scolded by his parents. I asked him again, growing more frantic at Gibbs silence. Gibbs still didn't reply and my frantic behaviour was quickly turning to anger, I asked again, no answer, again, no answer, again, still, no answer. That was when I cracked, jumping from the table I grabbed Gibbs by his filthy shirt and lifted him above me. Screaming at him, completely ignoring the fear in his eyes I asked him again and threatened that if he didn't tell me, he wouldn't see the light of a new day _ever_ again.

"He was..." Gibbs began but hesitated "He was..."

"WHAT?" I roared at him, my patience was wearing thin, I shook him in the air.

"He was attacked by a swamp gator" He replied frantically, fear flooding his eyes "He has severe injuries, Tia Dalma is tending to him".

At his words I had dropped him, he landed with a loud bang on the floor, He shuffled away from me to the other side of the room. I however simply stood, too shocked to move. A thousand questions were rushing through my head. Was he alright?, Who is Tia Dalma? And will he...?, Will he die?.

I fell to my knees, too shocked to even function, in head I was simply screaming.

_'No,no, NO, this can't be happening!'_. I looked over to Gibbs, who was still frozen, a look of trepidation lingering on his face. I then glanced at my hands, my nails had grew a fair amount. But that wasn't what caused my eyes to widen, It was the small dots of blood which coated the tip of each fingernail. I looked at Gibbs chest to see ten dots of blood now staining his shirt. I had grabbed him so hard I had caused my nails to dig into his chest. My frantic mind was now filled with guilt, why had I let my anger get the best of me?, He didn't deserve to have it taken out on him. I stood and walked slowly towards him. He tried to shuffle away but my long legs gave me an advantage. When I had reached him I knelt beside him. The look of dread on his face only made the feeling of guilt increase. Slowly I placed my hand on his shoulder. He tensed immediately.

"I'm sorry" I whispered to him "I- I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't mean it"

My head was hanging low from the weight of regret looming on my shoulders. I expected him to call me out as a monster and run but was surprised when he gingerly putted my back.

"S'alright" He smiled lightly at me "Accidents happen". He stood up, helping me to my feet then walked to a small door.

"He's in there" He whispered, then knocked the door. I gulped as we waited for an answer.

"You may enter" A muffled voice called, Gibbs reached for the handle, before he opened the door he looked at me as if telling me to brace myself. As he turned the handle I sucked in my breath unsure of what I was going to see. As I walked into the dimly lit room the sudden array of smells nearly suffocated me. I placed my hand over my mouth and nose as swayed feeling light headed. Thankfully Gibbs was there to steady me. When I had finally gotten used to the smells I began to decipher what they were, strong incense, the stench of medicinal liquids and the one that stood out the most was the unmistakable smell of blood. I turned in the direction of the smell and spotted a small woman in a tattered yellowing dress. Her dark skin shone against the light of the candles in the room and her hair was fashioned into long dreadlocks. She looked over at me and in an instant our eyes locked. Her eyes, they were as dark as the abyss and her gaze was hard and glassy. I wondered what kind of tragedy could have befallen her, to make her seem so trapped in her own body. She broke away from our small staring contest to look at a small bed in the corner of the room. I noticed the bed and then began to walk towards it cautiously. The woman did not try to stop me as I got to the side of the bed and looked at Mr Crepsley's unconscious form. To a human he would seem very peaceful, just like he was sleeping, but I knew better, He was paler than usual and every now and again he would lightly wince and moan from the pain, his orange hair was slick with sweat. I placed my hand on his forehead, he was burning with fever. I had no idea that vampires could get _this_ sick, I had seen him before with a cold but that was it. Never anything this bad. I cast my eyes down to the blanket that was covering him, hiding the damage that had been done to him. I looked back at the woman who was now grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle. She looked up at me briefly and nodded, giving me the consent to pull away the veil from Mr Crepsley's body. Looking back to the blanket, I gulped as my shaky hand lightly grabbed one of the corners. Ever so slowly I started revealing his heavily bandaged body. His torso and arms were bandaged tightly in cloth and I could see the blood seeping through them all, the blood seemed to pool in large C shapes.

_'That must have been where it bit him'_ I thought inspecting it closer to see tooth marked shaped pools of blood. However this was not enough blood loss to make him seem so much paler. I glanced down at the lower half of his body which was still covered. I gulped, sweat beginning to form at my brow. I didn't want to look any further, I just wanted to put the blanket back over him and leave the room. But I needed to know the extent of the damage done to my friend. I removed the blanket slowly past his hips. He was wearing a light blue pair of shorts to cover him, his thighs were scratched badly but the scratches were healing well and were no longer bleeding.

_'The damage doesn't seem so bad'_ I thought wondering what Gibbs had meant by severe injuries. Not long after I had thought this, I removed the blanket from his legs. But it wasn't legs any more it was _leg_. The sight made me collapse onto my knees and the tears started flowing faster than I could stop them, I felt like screaming, I was hardly aware of Gibbs running over and kneeling beside me, holding me in his arms like a small child.

"Oh, god" I cried into his shirt, ignoring the stench from it "Oh god, Gibbs his leg!"

"I know" he shushed me "I know". Mr Crepsley's right leg was lightly scratched, so no bandaged lay upon it. His left leg, however, was none existent from the knee. It was a bloodied stump. The gator had bitten it straight off!. Bandages were covering it but they were soaked through with blood. The woman had now stopped grinding the herbs and had gotten to her feet. She walked over to the bottom of the bed were the stump lay. Gibbs pulled me up and handed me a dirty handkerchief, I dried the tears from my eyes. I noticed that there was pink lace surrounding the outside of the small piece of fabric. I handed it back to him trying not to think about were he had gotten it. I watched the woman take a thick green paste from the bowl onto her fingers and spread it over the now exposed stump. Mr Crepsley's face contorted in pain and his back arched slightly. I very nearly punched the woman for hurting him when I suddenly noticed the bleeding beginning to stop, Mr Crepsley's face relaxing and his breathing becoming even. She then applied new bandages to the area. I gulped at his bandaged form, he looked so vulnerable, he would've hated any one seeing him like that, especially me. The woman took a cold, wet cloth over his face and replaced the blanket over him. She turned her back to us and I nervously asked the question that was smashing against my skull begging to get out.

"Is he going to be alright?" I choked hard, trying to stop any more tears falling from my eyes. She looked back at me, her expression soft but her eyes still retained their hardness.

"Time tells" She whispered to me, her accent thick and I understood she meant I'd have to wait for my answer.

"Him will wake" She continued "Or him won't". I nodded to her, my eyes burning as she placed all her equipment away. She pulled out two chairs from the corner and sat them facing opposite one another. She looked at Gibbs.

"Leave" she commanded him. I looked back at Gibbs who looked slightly shocked before quickly shuffling out the room when she glared at him. She sat down on one of the chairs and gestured to the other. I hesitantly made my way over to her and sat in the other chair.

"Your arm?" she inquired looking at the tightly bandaged limb.

"A little sore" I replied awkwardly shuffling my feet and slightly rubbing my arm.

"That is good" She stated, she suddenly got to her feet and went over to a cupboard, she grabbed a small flask out of it and handed it to me.

"Drink" she commanded me and I quickly brought it to my lips. When the liquid reached my tongue my eyes widened in surprise. It was blood. I removed the bottle from my lips and stared at her, silently asking for an explanation.

"I had a visitor, many months ago, I was told by them" She started "What you are, and that you will need this to survive". Her vague answer only made me more confused.

"Who told you?" I asked taking another sip from the flask "Who told you we were vampires?". She simply shook her head.

"I must not reveal that to you" she said "It would change too much". I looked at her my eyebrows raised. What the hell was she talking about?

"I also need to tell you that the final stage of the purge has came and went" She said smiling at me, but the smile seemed fake and put on. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What!" I cried "But that means...".

"You are now a full vampire" she replied nodding at me "Which means you must avoid the sun"

I hung my head tiredly, wondering how much shock it would take to kill a vampire, when she stood up again. She went back to the same cupboard and pulled out an item wrapped in cloth.

"I was also told to give this to you" She said, her fake smile was now gone as she handed me the peculiar item. I looked into my palm and began to unwrap it, a distinct ticking sound could be heard within the cloth. When my eyes landed on the exposed item, my blood ran cold with fear but boiled with anger. It was a watch, shaped very much, like a heart.


	5. Chapter 4

_Darren's POV_

I was frozen to the spot, my knees weak and my hands shaking as I looked upon the all to familiar ticking heart. Each tick counting a second closer, to what I didn't know, all I knew was that this was the mark, the starting point. _His _way of saying: _The game has begun_.

I clenched my hand tightly around the watch, hell bent on crushing the small piece of hell in my fist but was shocked to find that it held a strong resistance to my newly found vampire strength. No matter how hard I bore my hand around the watch I didn't hear any other sound than the deathly ticking that came from it.

'_Why?_' I growled in my mind '_Why does he keep playing with us?, What's his problem?'_

My anger grew into a silent rage as I looked back on all the times he had toyed with my life and Mr Crepsley's life, when would his obsession end?, He brought us back from the dead just to cause chaos and manipulate the choices that Mr Crepsley and I make. Why didn't he just leave us dead?, did he have no respect for what all us vampires stand for?

The rage grew, I closed my eyes as I tried to hold back the monster within me, the one _he_ created, my enemy, my hatred …...my father. I was thrown over the edge. No longer could I hold back the rage I felt as I took the watch and threw it.

"Bastard!" I screamed, I heard a small clank as it hit the wall, but no sound of the glass face cracking or the twang of the insides of the clock twisting and breaking. Instead it just sat there on the floor, ticking at me, staring at me, mocking me. The sudden feel of Tia Dalma's hand upon my shoulder made the beast inside me freeze. It was a cold touch but all the same, comforting. I slowly fell to my knees and she followed. She cupped my cheeks in her hands and stared at me with those dark eyes, each one a black hole of sadness and despair.

"Calm yourself" She said to me quietly "Not all is what it seems" I looked into her eyes with wonder, what did she mean by that? However when I tried to ask she simply placed a finger to my lips and whispered softly.

"I cannot say" she rubbed her hand across my cheek, smoothing some of my hair from my face "It is your journey, I cannot interfere".

I simply nodded, I should have known she wouldn't tell me, everything was simply one riddle after the next, all that could be done was wonder aimlessly until the end of the journey was found, until _he _let it be found.

"Breathe slowly" She said, her voice now barely a whisper. It was only when she had said this that I realised how my breathing was irregular and coming in short gasps. Focusing on my breathing I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, I repeated this until my breath was no longer short and forced, it was natural.

"Good" She sighed as she rose from the floor, I looked up at her as she gave me her hand "Come, you have some unfinished business".

I looked at her confused "Unfinished business?" I asked watching as she walked towards the door "What do you mean?". She turned to look at me, her eyes still unforgiving black orbs.

"It was one of my pets which took your masters leg" She stated bluntly and I looked at her, shocked.

"You have a swamp gator...as a pet?" Confusion wracked through my brain as I tried to make sense of it.

"Yes" She replied "But him is no longer my pet, him has been changed, by taking your masters leg him consumed much blood".

That's when it clicked. Vampire blood. The gator had consumed _vampire_ blood, If I knew one thing about vampire blood, it was that whenever a common animal consumed even a small amount of it, it would send them over the edge into a pit of madness, from which there was no return. I thought back to the bear I had encountered on my first trek to vampire mountain and how it had consumed vampaneze blood and the two boars I had met in my trail and how they had been fed vampire blood. I remembered how these animals had lost any feeling of their conscious self and were slaves to madness and blood lust. I was suddenly broken out of my daydream when Tia Dalma handed me a sword and belt, she picked up a pistol, looked at me then replaced it back on the shelf from which she removed it. Knowing full well I would not use it.

"What do I do with it once I kill it?" I asked her as she turned back to me with a small dagger in her hand "If I leave the body, another animal will eat it and then we're back where we started".

She handed me the dagger and I placed it in the belt. I looked at her, she seemed deep in thought.

"Take the body back here" She instructed "Use the dagger I gave you to cut out him's stomach and remove it's contents, give the contents to me and I shall take care of the rest".

I nodded, wondering what she wanted the stomachs contents for but deciding not to ask, I mean the woman had shrunken heads hanging around the hut.

"D-do I have to go with him?" Gibbs asked, clearly nervous, I hadn't even noticed he was there.

"No" I said softly and grinned at the relief on his face, the poor man was such a chicken "This is too dangerous for you". I looked at Tia Dalma as she nodded in agreement.

"You would only drag him down" She said bluntly and I couldn't help but laugh when he puffed out his chest, trying to prove he was just as strong as me.

"Good luck Darren" Gibbs said patting my shoulder and I smiled back at him. I looked back at Tia Dalma as she slowly walked back into Mr Crepsley's room.

"Tia Dalma" I called after her and she turned around and smiled hollowly at me "How do I find the gator?"

"Blood is the key" She replied before closing the door over and disappearing to tend to Mr Crepsley once more. I stood there, quite frankly, confused which was a feeling I was getting quite used to. Pressing my palm to my face I groaned.

'_Can't I just get a straight answer?_' I thought as I headed for the front door of the hut. Opening the door I looked out into the surroundings, It was marsh land as far as I could see but I was vaguely aware of the river at the very far end. The rain fell sharply against my skin and the wind blew harshly against my face. Sighing I stepped slowly off of the steps and onto the soft ground beneath me, just a bit too soft. I cursed as my foot sunk into the mushy soil and I nearly lost my balance completely. Pulling my foot free I stood in one spot as I tried to determine how I was going to catch the one responsible for taking my mentor's leg.

_Blood is the key_, those four words echoed in my mind, just what the hell did she mean?. I attempted to pace whilst thinking but stopped when the shoe on my left foot threatened to slip off.

'_Blood, blood, blood...what does that have to do with anyth-_' My trail of thought stopped as I struck a revelation. I glanced down at the dagger on my belt and then to the palm of my hand. Blood. The gator was hungry for blood, but not just _any_ blood. Vampire blood. In a movement so swift a human would have missed it, I took the dagger from my belt and sliced the palm of my hand. I winced as I watched the blood quickly begin to pool in my hand. I ran over to the river bank at such a speed I could only assume I had flitted, that and I was unsteady on my feet from the speed. Focusing back on the task at hand I clenched my fist above the water and watched as the droplets of my blood merged with the surface of it. When a large pool of blood had formed I took my hand away from the river and took a step back. I retrieved the handkerchief that Gibbs had gave me from my pocket and wiped the excess blood from my hand, testing my new found abilities I licked the wound on my hand and watched as my saliva quickly sealed it and all that was left was a long pink scar.

'_Now I just have to wait_' I thought as I stood further back from the river's edge and as I expected, I didn't have to wait long. I was barely five feet away from the edge when the beast surfaced in an explosion of blood lust and mad rage. I rolled out from it's path and into a crouch as it landed in the spot I had been standing. It turned to me and snapped and growled, it's eyes white orbs of insanity. I pulled the sword from my belt as it began to pursue me, pursue its never ending hunger for blood. It lunged at me, its mouth wide and teeth patched with dried blood, I slid under the brute, ready to slice open its body and be done with my task. However in my haste to finish off the animal I didn't notice its head swing round and soon its large mouth was latched onto my shoulder. I roared in agony as its teeth sunk into my flesh and tore at my shoulder blade. I shifted my weight till I had pinned the large beast into the marshy soil, my shoulder still trapped within its jaws. I used my free arm to punch at the brute's head. At first it ignored my punching and stayed locked onto my shoulder, enjoying the taste of my blood but the higher the pain escalated, the harder I punched at the creature until I had hit it hard enough for it to loosen its grip. When I felt its grip loosen I acted fast and jumped away from it and quickly retrieved the sword I had dropped when it had grabbed me. It turned over, looked at me and gave an almost demonic snarl. It stared hungrily at my shoulder, pissed at how it was no longer chewing upon it. I glared at it, hissing at the pain in my arm but trying my best to ignore it. I needed a new tactic, clearly I had underestimated my opponent. I had thought that because it had consumed vampire blood that it would be so engulfed by madness that it would not be able to think straight and be an easy kill. However this was not the case, this was a case much like Murlough, mad but insatiably clever. This, would not be easy. It lunged once again, its mouth wide, but this time instead of sliding underneath it I stood my ground and swung strongly with my sword. I heard a sharp smash of metal striking fang, but not flesh. I was amazed to see the sword stuck between two fangs and the animal shaking its head in annoyance , trying to remove it. I grinned, now it couldn't bite me, quickly I removed the dagger from my belt, settling for that as my weapon. However, just as I am about to strike, I notice something, the beast has stopped moving. I narrow my eyes, trying to determine through the hard rain, just what it was doing. My stomach dropped as I heard the snap of steel and saw the broken pieces of sword fall from its mouth.

'_It bit the sword into pieces!_' I cried in my mind, the brute then turned on me, spitting the last few pieces of metal from its mouth. '_Crap..._'. The beast screamed at me in anger and again lunged for me. Its killer jaws missed me but the weight of its large body slammed me into a nearby tree. I was pinned by the crazed animal as it snapped at my face. Moving all my strength to my legs I kicked it off of me and jumped, grabbing onto a nearby branch. I pulled myself up and clung to the branch, trying to think of a way out of the situation. Staring at the mad creature below me, thankful that it couldn't reach me on the branch, I remembered something. Something I thought I would have never remembered, something I learned in school, before I had become a vampire. The scene played in my head, it was science and Steve had asked about the anatomy of reptiles. He hadn't been interested in that, he had simply asked a question that he hoped the teacher would take awhile to answer so we didn't have to do any school work. It was all useless knowledge to me before the teacher had informed us that there was a soft spot on a alligators head in which if it was shot or speared with enough force, would sever the spinal cord from the skull and kill it instantly, if done professionally.

'_That's it!_' My thought cried as I pinpointed the soft spot on the beasts head. I had to act quickly, and without a second thought I dropped from the tree onto the brute's back and rammed the dagger in deep. It gave a pained scream and thrashed about before quickly going limp beneath me. Dead. I stood up, rubbing my bleeding shoulder. I groaned in pain before picking up the corpse and draping it over my uninjured shoulder and walking back to the hut. I walked through the door and noticed that a large table had been set up in the centre of the room and I quickly placed the body upon the table -to relieve my aching shoulder- and began to cut through the tough scales of its underside. Gibbs shortly walked up to me, having noticed my heavily bleeding shoulder.

"Hey, Darren, maybe you should have Tia Dalma look at that" He advised me but I hushed him away and focused on removing the stomach of my prey. I pushed my hand into the alligator's body, grabbed its stomach and pulled it out, ignoring the stench of its tainted blood. Once I had removed it I cut open the large sac and pulled out its contents and was surprised to find that it was bones and blood. Nothing but bones and blood was present. There wasn't even any stomach acid.

'_Is this what vampire blood does to an animals digestive system?_' I thought as I picked out the pieces of bone and placed them in a bowl beside the table. When I was sure all the bone had been picked out I took the bowl to Mr Crepsley's room and handed it to Tia Dalma.

"Good" she said with her hollow smile "Oh, you are hurt". She pointed to my bleeding shoulder and then took some bandages from a small cupboard. As she applied the bandages, I could feel my head getting heavy. I was exhausted.

"Get some rest" She commanded when she had finished with my wound "Gibbs will dispose of the body" I nodded, heading to the room in which she had pointed out, happy to find a small bed in the corner. I closed the door over and slipped out of my sodden clothes and slipped under the covers, ignoring the pain from my shoulder I turned over and happily greeted the sleep that came for me. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder:

'_What did Tia Dalma need the bones for?_'


	6. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

_Mr Crepsley's POV_

The darkness was suffocating and the pain was like a thousand needles deep within my skin. Why was it so dark? Why was it so quiet? The silence echoed around me as I stared into the dark abyss before me. I was soon aware of the sound of my breathing. It was shaky as I tried to hold back screams at every spike of pain, making small whimpers.

'_What happened to me?_' I thought confused as another wave of pain came and went. I was sure I was not dead, dying was not something new to me and I knew that death did not come with such pain. It came with paradise... a place I was quickly beginning to forget. Another spike came and another whimper came from me.

'_What is going on?_' I wondered, squinting to see if I could come across any light source that may help me see where I was. The sound of my shaky breathing deafened me as I lay there, in too much pain to try and move. I was so vulnerable... and I hated it. A sudden breeze blew across my pained skin and I shivered violently against it. The breeze continued to blow, getting stronger at each stroke. I curled in on myself to try and fight against the cold, trying my best to ignore the pain that came with it. Lying there, shivering, I was aware of a soft noise being carried on the wind, too quiet for me to hear exactly what it was but nevertheless, still there. I strained to hear the noise, focusing all my senses onto it in hopes to find out what it was. The noise began to grow in volume as I forced myself to sit up, hissing against the pain. The noise was a voice, a girl's voice sweet as honey and her soul deep in song.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me" I tilted my head as she sang, suddenly aware of the salty taste to the air around me. Fighting against the pain and cold I forced myself to stand and wandered, my only ambition to find the young girl who sang.

"We pillage, plunder, rifle and loot" She sang as the breeze grew colder and more violent, the scent of the sea strong upon it "Drink up me hearties, yo ho".

The breeze began to still and I could hear her voice beginning to drift away with it. Breathing hard against the pain I broke into a run in a bid to try and reach her. As I ran I became aware of the sound of hard wood beneath my feet although I ignored it, far too hypnotized by the girl's voice to turn back and wonder.

"We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot" The darkness began to disperse I suddenly saw a shimmering light in the distance "Drink up me hearties, yo ho".

Her voice grew louder as I drew closer to the light, surprised to find the pain disappearing along with the darkness. Taking a breath I stepped through the light and grimaced as the darkness fully disappeared. I blinked several times in order to become used to the new light source. I looked around at my new surroundings to find I was on the deck of a large ship in the middle of the ocean.

'_Odd..._' I thought staring at this new scene. Around the ship was a horrible fog that hugged it tightly, making it almost impossible to see where it was going. I watched as the crew men ran around doing each of their individual tasks, seemingly unaware of my presence aboard.

'_Where am I?_' I thought as I wandered around the deck of the ship. My eyes were so distracted that I did not notice the small man walking towards me and gasped in shock when I felt a cold feeling run through me as the man did.

'_What on earth?_' I thought as I looked down at myself my eyes wide with wonder and shock '_How did he...?_'

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me" the small voice came from behind me and I turned around in wonder to see the small man from before walking towards a young girl in a grey dress and her hair tied back.

"We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack" The man grabbed the girl's shoulder causing her to take fright and turn around swiftly. As I grew closer to the pair I heard the man's familiar voice.

"Quiet Missy!" he hissed into her face that was lit with trepidation "Cursed pirates sail these waters, you don't want to bring them down on us now, do you?"

'_That is that man..._' I thought as I stared at him '_Gibbs, was it?_'. He seemed a fair amount younger though, his silver hair was a deep and more healthy black and he also seemed to be a lot thinner. I stilled my train of thought when I heard angry footsteps approach the pair and looked to see a young man in what looked to be some form of blue officers uniform, his black hair scraped back into a small knot and a large hat upon his head.

"Mr Gibbs" he addressed him, his voice low and laced with hidden anger "That will do". Gibbs turned to the young man, a scowl on his face as he began to stare him down.

"She was singing about pirates!" he pointed sharply to the girl who flinched slightly in return "Bad luck to sing about pirates with us mired in this unnatural fog, mark my words".

The man stared back at Gibbs, an unimpressed expression adorned his features as he spoke with a sarcastic tone.

"Consider them marked" he looked to Gibbs with obvious dislike "On your way".

Gibbs folded, nodding towards the younger man and stepping away from the girl.

"Aye, Lieutenant" he murmured walking away from the girl and stepping past him.

'_Lieutenant?_' I wondered, taking a closer look at the man's uniform and then looking at Gibb's. Gibb's was a simple shirt and pants with a small hat upon his head and I then understood that the young man had to be his commanding officer, dressed like that.

I watched as Gibbs moved further away from the young man and girl, mumbling a final statement "Bad luck to have a woman aboard too. Even a miniature one" he took a gulp from a small bottle on his person and I grimaced slightly as I smelt the alcohol from it. Looking away from him I watched the new pair at the front of the ship. The little girl's shock had faded and changed to a look of pure curiosity.

"I think it'd be rather exciting to meet a pirate" she stated staring up at the Lieutenant. I couldn't help but smile at her curiosity, it reminded me of a young Darren, watching in wonder at the different acts in the Cirque, his child mind working in overdrive. I wondered if he was alright, had Gibbs and Darren made it to Tia Dalma's?

The Lieutenant's voice broke me from my daze as he shook his head and walked to stand beside the young girl.

"Think again, Miss Swan" he place his hands behind his back and stared into the fog "Vile and desolate creatures the lot of them, I intend to see to it that any man who sails under the pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves..." he looked down at the girl smiling lightly "A short drop and a sudden stop".

I noticed the girl look past him to Gibbs whom was now standing a little closer. Watching him I heard a light gasp come from the girl as he pulled upon his tie to mimic being hanged. I laughed lightly at this, finding it rather funny that he found someone easier to scare than himself. However I stopped laughing when I saw a rather noble looking man wonder up to the pair, he was wearing a rather red clothing, a large hat and his face was knit with worry and a small amount of paranoia.

"Lieutenant Norrington" He said, his voice rather quiet "I appreciate your fervour but I'm... I'm concerned about the effect this subject will have upon my daughter" he looked down at the little girl, a slight smile on his lips whilst Norrington stood with an awkward expression on his face.

"Apologies, Governor Swan" he nodded before walking away from them, in which the young girl looked to her father with an interested smile on her face.

"Actually I find it all fascinating" She said smiling up to him, her expression was met with one of worry and confusion.

"Yes" he replied to her "That's what concerns me..." The smile slipped from the girl's face as her father ignored her natural curiosity. Although I felt sympathy for her I couldn't help but agree with the father's intentions.

'_He is trying to protect her_' My mind drifted to the pirate raid '_And for good reason..._'.

The girl turned to the water, looking out into the fog, a sense of wonder about her person. I stood next to her, confident by now that see could not hear or see me – after all Gibbs had walked through me – and watched the water with her. As the water rippled and moved with the ship I became aware of a small object floating on the ocean's surface and moved with the girl to get a closer look.

'_A parasol?_' I thought in confusion as the pale yellow parasol floated along the side of the ship. I was so focused on the peculiar little sunshade that I did not notice the girl turn her head as another object approached the ship.

"Look!" she shouted turning to the crew, causing me to nearly jump from my own skin "A boy, there's a boy in the water!"

I looked over the ship to where she had been staring and true enough, floating on a large piece of wood, was a small boy in tattered clothing.

"Man overboard!" I heard Norrington shout as he looked over the side of the ship with the rest of the crew and began to bark orders as the men who followed them in a blind panic.

"Haul him aboard!" he barked as some of the crew came over with ropes. Standing still I watched the bustle and chaos take place as they pulled the small boy aboard the ship. Gibbs stayed on the side, clutching the ropes and staring at something in the distance.

"He's still breathing" Norrington sighed his voice laced with relief coming from the small group of crewmen surrounding the boy. A gasp from behind made me turn around.

"Mary mother of god!" I heard the hoarse voice of Gibbs gasp and I quickly made my way over beside him with the rest of the crew to take a closer look at what he was staring at. The flames and smoke rose high from the close wreckage of another ship and I stared at it in horror as I listened to the shocked mumbles and gasps of the concerned crewmen.

"What happened here?" Governor Swan asked as he stared in alarm at the ruins of the ship. Norrington stood beside him assessing the situation before stating his theory.

"Most likely the powder magazine, merchant vessels run heavily armed". Hearing a scoff from Gibbs, I looked at him in interest as he stared at the ship, something forlorn about his eyes made me wonder.

"Lotta good it did them" everyone looked to him in confusion and he turned back to them, a humble look upon his face "Everyone's thinking it, I'm just saying it... pirates". Governor Swan stuttered slightly as he stared at Gibbs, clearly terrified.

"There's no proof of that" He said, attempting to keep his head high in what I decided was a pathetic attempt at bravery "It was probably and accident".

'_Imbecile..._' I thought as the crew turned from the destruction and followed every order that the Lieutenant made and sent out several rescue boats in a bid to see if there were any survivors upon the trashed ship.

'_Unlikely there will be any others..._' I thought as I looked towards the boy who was being moved away from the chaos and noise the men were making '_He's lucky to have survived..._'.

The young girl was being instructed by her father to watch over the boy when I approached them and I followed her when she bustled away to where the boy had been laid. I stood beside her and watched as she looked down on him, a curious glint in her eyes. The boy's breathing was shaky from the cold and the young girl slowly reached out to stroke his hair in order to comfort him. As her hand made contact the boy gasped awake suddenly, smacking her hand away from him. She jumped from the movement before calming herself and instructing the boy in a gentle, almost motherly tone.

"It's okay..." She comforted as the boy gasped sharply in shock "My name's Elizabeth Swan".

The boy stared up at her, gasping quickly, fear and pain etched deeply into his dark brown eyes.

"W-Will Turner..." He choked out in reply to her, shivering uncontrollably.

"I'm watching over you Will" Elizabeth smiled down at him in an attempt to comfort him further which was met by a small nod from him before he fell unconscious again from exhaustion. Watching her closely I saw her smile slip into a look of confusion and interest as she inspected the boy, coming across a gold chain lying on his neck. Pulling carefully at it she revealed a gold medallion which was engraved with a skull and other intricate symbols.

"You're a... pirate!" She gasped quietly, staring at the boy with a look of amazement and a tinge of fear.

"Has he said anything?" Norrington's voice came from behind us suddenly and Elizabeth gasped loudly and turned around, hiding the medallion behind her back, away from prying eyes.

"His name's William Turner" She stated, nervous from hiding the interesting gold piece "That's all I found out" Having obviously not noticed her struggling to keep a straight face and hide something from him, Norrington nodded and turned to a man beside him.

"Take him below" He instructed before turning around and leaving, most likely to speak with the ship's captain. I stayed with the girl as she watched several crewmen take the boy away, all the while trying her best to hide the medallion from their view. When the boy disappeared below deck she made her way back to the front of the ship which was now secluded due to the chaos that had just ensued. Looking around carefully, her eyes glancing at me, or rather through me, she revealed the medallion and began to investigate it closely. She lifted it to her eye level and I found myself kneeling to get a closer look at it. The skull lay in the middle of the medallion with other delicate engravings around it. It gave off a rather sinister feel as it's deep gold colour contrasted against the girl's pale skin.

'_What is this?_' I pondered, finding myself reaching out for it. I had expected my hand to pass through the gold like Gibbs had passed through me but was shocked and reared back slightly when my fingers brushed against solid, cold metal. I stared at the medallion in shock as it simply glittered back at me. Something about the way the medallion felt, how cold it was despite being in the girl's grasp for so long, the venomous feel and appearance it had. It seemed awfully familiar, but I could not place the horrible feeling in my gut. All I knew was that medallion, surely meant certain death. A shift of movement in the distance caught my attention as the fog began to disperse and I stood up straight to get a closer look. As I stared at the peculiar object in the distance I came to the conclusion that it was another ship, however this one was different than the one I was on. It was a large ship, it's wood darkened with dirt and ash, it's black sails were tattered and torn and yet the ship still seemed to sail fine. Fog seemed to resonate from the ship itself, as if it was using the fog to move from place to place. As my eyes travelled further up the mast a small piece of black material moving in the wind caught my eye. At the top of the mast was a black flag and adorned on it was a pure white skull and crossbones. A pirate flag.

'_Probably the ones who attacked that ship..._' I thought absent-mindedly as I stared at the flag, a small gasp from the girl beside me caused me to turn. Her eyes were wide and the curious glint in her eye was back as strong as ever. '_So much like Darren..._' I smiled down at her lightly as she leaned over the side of the ship to get a closer look at the departing ship.

A sudden sharp pain down my left leg caused me to gasp and grip at it tightly. '_What...?_' I grimaced as another wave of pain came and under my hands I could swear that I felt my leg twisting in my grasp, the flesh tearing and the bone cracking. I screamed as I clutched at it, losing my balance and falling over. The cold darkness had returned and was surrounding me once more as I lay there writhing in agony. I could feel the warmth of my blood running through my fingers as my leg continued to be twisted and pulled in an unseen vice like grip. I roared as the white hot pain seared through my body as the final pieces of bone snapped and my leg became detached from the knee. My eyes widened in shock as I felt the bloody stump with my fingers and the blood began to pour into my hands. The pain was unbearable and I cried out once more. However my cry was choked as I felt a thin bony hand grip around my neck tightly and a horrible liquid being forced down my throat. I struggled and tried to spit the ghastly mixture from my mouth but the hand on my neck increased it pressure causing me to swallow it. I cried out at every chance I had, grasping the hand and trying to pry it off.

"Calm yourself!" I heard a strange voice command me and at that the darkness dispersed once more and I was staring into the dark brown, almost black eyes of a mysterious, young coloured woman.


	7. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

_Darren's POV_

A violent and horrible scream woke me up from my still sleep, my eyes ripped open in shock and I sat up straight in the small bed I was lying in. Dizziness overtook me and I clutched my head to steady myself, only to find that I was lying on the floor and clutching my sore shoulder a moment later.

"D-dammit..." I grumbled as I lifted myself onto my knees "That hurt...". I stared around at my surroundings, trying to remember exactly where I was and standing up shakily I gripped onto one of the bedposts to stop myself from falling again.. I blinked against the gentle candlelight of the room, it staining everything a dark topaz colour. The room was small with the bed in one corner of the room and a large chest in the other. The only other thing in the room was a rickety looking old chair which upon it sat a bundle of cloth. Finally finding my feet I walked towards it and picked up the bundle, finding it to be a white shirt and a pair of brown trousers. Looking down at myself I shrugged my shoulders before pulling on the trousers which surprisingly fit perfect and were warm. I slipped on the shirt, finding it to be warm and of perfect fit also.

"Interesting" I said looking at the clothes on me in wonder, turning to walk away my foot hit something under the chair and I looked under the chair to see a pair of thick boots. My eyes widened, they hadn't been there before. Stepping into them, not surprised that they fit perfectly I turned to the door. Before my hand had reached the door knob another scream sounded and my face paled. I thought I had been dreaming when I last heard it but what made me freeze the most, was that I recognised the person in which this pained noise resonated from.

'Mr Crepsley' I thought, my eyes widening as I flew through the door immediately and scared a rather disturbed looking Gibbs who was waiting for me on the other side.

"What's going on?" I almost screamed at him as I slammed the door behind me, quickly heading for the room that held Mr Crepsley. I was in a complete panic but by the time I realised that Gibbs had stood up and blocked my way, I was pissed.

"What are you doing Gibbs?" I growled at him, my voice like venom "Get out of my way!"

"I can't do that lad" He said, clearly terrified "Tia Dalma's orders"

"Orders?" I stood there confused and angry "What the hell is she doing to him?"

"Helping him Darren" He raised his hands and lightly pushed against my chest, trying to lead me to sit down but when another scream sounded I was back at the door again.

"That doesn't sound like helping!" I cried prying for the door handle and pushing Gibbs clean out of the way. Gibbs landed with a sharp cry of pain which I ignored, only focusing on helping my mentor.

"You open that door and he's as good as dead!" I froze, my hand inches away from the handle and looked at Gibbs who was now sitting up and clutching his elbow.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, my voice suddenly quiet as I stared into his serious blue eyes.

"I don't know lad" He grunted as he pulled himself onto his feet "All I know is that it is never good to interrupt Tia Dalma from her work... things go bad, they go really bad"

My hand slipped from the door then, the look in his eyes, how they shimmered with pity, told me that he was telling the truth and I knew that if I opened that door, Mr Crepsley could die. I pulled my hand away from the handle and turned completely towards him. He did his best to give me a reassuring smile.

"C'mon lad" he stood up and stretched "You're probably hungry, aye?"

It was only then that I noticed the horrible empty feeling in my stomach and I clutched it lightly. I hadn't eaten in days. In the panic I had had plenty of blood but neglected to eat any form of food. I nodded to him before following him into what I assumed was the kitchen of the strange little shack.

_Mr Crepsley's POV_

I stared into the woman's strange eyes in fear as she kept an abnormally strong hand on my shoulder and a small bowl in her other.

'_Where am I?_' I thought, terrified of what was happening around me. I thought of trying to move away from her again but found that I was too afraid and captivated by her dark eyes to move.

"Good" She almost purred at me "You is awake, you have been unconscious for four days". With that, she removed her hand and moved to the side of the strange room I was in.

'_Four days?_' I thought in shock.

"Who are you?" I asked her, trying my best to keep a poker-face "Where is this?".

She did not answer me. Instead she appeared by the side of the bed I was in once more and handed me the small bowl which was now filled was a rather disgusting looking green liquid.

"Drink" She commanded and when I looked at her sceptically she simply repeated the order again. I sat staring at the ugly liquid, unsure whether to trust her or not.

"Do you want me to hold you down again?" The woman asked, an unfriendly glint in her eye caused a cold shiver to run down my spine and the next thing I knew I was guzzling the liquid as if my life depended on it. The flavour of the liquid was... interesting to say the least. It first began with a sweet, light taste then degraded into a bitter and musty taste. I was then hit with a taste so spicy that I was almost choking and just like that the taste was gone. Nothing. It was like I had not even drank it. I eyed the small bowl in wonder for a moment before the woman took it away and moved to a short table in the corner in the room. She still had not answered my questions and I did not know whether or not to push for answers or to keep quiet. She was a lady after all, to be rude to her would have been unforgivable behaviour. Instead I settled with watching her work at this table. She took another small bowl and I watched as she took what appeared to be pieces of bones and placed them within it. Taking a pestle she began to grind the pieces of bone to dust. I couldn't help but tilt my head in wonder, just what was this woman doing. I sat and turned to the wall in silence, only the sound of the grinding mortar and pestle in my ears. I looked down at myself, seeing that I was undressed except for my undergarments – which I was thankful for – and I was covered in bandages. C-shaped pools of blood covered my body and slowly through the pool of confusion in my mind, I recalled the attack. My eyes widened and I froze as my eyes reached my legs to see, only one leg left, I reached out to touch it, as if that by some miracle that if I touched the stump it would magically grow back. It did not. In fact all I did was cause a sharp pain to generate through my body, causing me to rear my hand away and hiss.

"Not good idea to touch " the woman's thick accent rang into my ears as she set the bowl aside and poured the powder mixture into another, larger, bowl. My mouth was dry and I could not seem to form any words through the shock. My leg was gone. There was no way of getting it back. Instead I settled for asking the only question that was piercing the cloud of madness within my mind.

"Where is Darren?" My voice was hoarse and I stared at her back as she continued her work, at first I expected her not to answer me, but was relieved when she spoke the few words that I hoped to hear.

"Darren be safe" She then turned around to me and smiled but it looked hollow "Darren be a fine and full vampire".

At first I had smiled in relief and looked down at my leg, then her words sank in and I looked at her in shock.

"That is impossible!" My eyes were wide as my mind tried to process this new and ridiculous information "The purge takes several weeks to end, you said I had only been unconscious for four days, how is it that Darren is a full-vampire?, there were never any signs of the purge even beginning!"

She raised her hand and made a sharp hiss for me to be quiet and I sat there stunned and motionless.

"I helped him along a little" She said cryptically with a small smile before turning back to her work at the table and I sat there dumbfounded. I realised that this woman was not going to give me any straight answers and so I settled for lying back onto the bed and watching her at this table. I watched her hands move in slow and fluid motions as she appeared to be moulding something out of the clay and bone mixture.

'_But what?' _I thought in wonder.

_Darren's POV_

Gibbs watched with slightly wide eyes as I wolfed down any food he put in front of me. Bowl after bowl and plate after plate of food vanished into my stomach until I sat there with and gave a proud and satisfied burp.

"Hungry?" Gibbs laughed at me as he took a gulp from his canteen "Were you lad?". I laughed with him for a moment before burping again.

"I was" I said grinning, thankful of the full stomach I now had "Not any more though".

"That's good" Gibbs replied smiling at me "You looked like death warmed up".

"I felt like it too if I'm honest" I said laughing a little as I pushed the empty bowls and plates away from me, the table groaning slightly in protest. I sat staring around the small room where we sat, it opened onto the main room where I had dragged the alligator carcass into the night before. I stared at the table in there, noticing the large blood stain upon it. I turned to Gibbs once more.

"Hey, Gibbs?" I glanced at that table again "What happened to the alligator I killed?". For some unknown reason, Gibbs began to laugh hard, his fist pounding against the table. I looked at him, perplexed for a while before he finally sighed, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Why, lad" he giggled, trying to hold back another torrent of laughter "What did you think you were eating all this time?". At this, he exploded with laughter once more, gripping the side of the table as it gave large groans. I could do nothing but blink in surprise before laughing with him, my face slightly red in embarrassment. I assumed that he had taken the corpse outside and drained it of all it's tainted blood before it was cooked into the rather delicious stew he'd served me. I sat there occasionally letting out a small giggle as he stood and began clearing away the dishes. They scraped against the wooden table top and the table groaned again like an sickly beast.

"So..." I said hoping to make conversation "How do you know Tia Dalma?" I leant back on the rickety chair and watched his back as he cleaned the pewter bowls in a small basin.

"I...uh... know her through a friend of mine" He chimed rather happily as he said this as if the memory alone of this friend caused him to smile.

"A friend?" I asked wanting to know more moving the chair to sit in its original position and I leant on my arms waiting for him to say more.

"Aye" He nodded, placing a bowl aside to dry "A good friend and crazy to boot too, it was through him I met Tia Dalma". I couldn't help but smile at him. The grin on his face as he remembered all the memories he had of his friend made me feel a strange warmth in my heart as I remembered mine.

"He sounds pretty interesting" I leaned further on my hands smiling "Do you think I'll ever get to meet him?" Gibbs turned around once he had set the last dish down to dry, a huge grin on his face.

"Well, Lad" He laughed "You might just meet him one day". He sat down in front of me again and I asked him in curiosity what the man's name was.

"Well, it's-" he had barely gotten through his next word when a splitting scream of pain sounded from Mr Crepsley's room. It was horrifying, the sound itself cause my entire being to chill to the core as I listened, helpless. Knowing that if I dared to enter I might just kill him. And so I did the only thing I could think of. A childish act but still I couldn't help myself, I placed my hands over my ears and closed my eyes, a small part of me believing that it was all a nightmare and that when I opened my eyes Mr Crepsley and I would be back at the Cirque, performing with Madam Octa and stunning crowds of people. However the scream only continued and after it followed more and more, I instinctively curled in on myself, trying to stop myself from running into that room and ripping that woman apart for causing him such pain. I became aware after a while of Gibb's hand placed on my back in an attempt to comfort me. It didn't work very well but it was of some comfort which was better than none I suppose. I opened my eyes slightly to stare at the door, the screams barely muffled by it and I wondered. '_What could she be doing to him?_'

_Mr Crepsley's POV_

I am still uncertain to this day exactly how long I watched this woman work at that small table. It could not have been more than an hour and yet it felt like an dragging eternity. I lay there, motionless and confused. I tried my best not to become distracted by my thoughts and questions but found there were too many to fight against and my mind became cloudy. Perhaps that is why it felt so long, watching her dark fingers press and mould the strange clay mixture, it slowly taking shape and her often adding an unknown ingredient to it. I noticed that the more she worked on it, the lighter the colour of the clay became. It had first began as a dark grey mound, a gritty and unattractive mixture which crumbled when touched. Yet now it was a pale peach, almost like a skin tone and was easily manoeuvrable in her hands. I tilted my head trying to catch a glimpse of what she was creating at that rotten table but her dress folded around her knelt form and blocked my view from her work so I simply waited for when she was finished. I had thought of asking her. However from the past few questions I had asked I had a feeling that she would not answer me straight and so I lay in silence, watching her shoulders move up and down. My mind filled with an unmoving boredom I moved myself to stare up at the ceiling of the small room, The rafters were cracked with age and damp and the candlelight in which she worked, tinged it a misty topaz. I lay, simply staring at it until the sound of footsteps approaching my bed caused my head to turn. The strange woman was staring down at me, an almost pitying look upon her features. This look caused me to become slightly irritable. I may have lost my leg but I refused to be pitied. I gave her a hard look which she responded with a small smile as she pulled a chair from the corner and sat at my side by my hips. It was only then that my eyes wandered to what she was carrying in her grasp. The grey mound she had been working on was now a very pale, almost white peach colour, it seemed to be hard but when she pulled on it, it moved without strain. I raised an eyebrow at this peculiar object, wondering exactly what she was planning on doing with it. Slowly and without words she pulled the top of the blanket which covered me and revealed my battered and bloody form up to my stump. I watched her carefully, trying to search in her eyes what she was planning. But something about this woman seemed, off. Her eyes seemed to be dark pits of pain and yet her face was beautiful and soft. Almost as if she was trapped in a body in which she did not fully belong. I could not help but feel almost trapped under her gaze as she stared at me, as if trying to assess my own mind. Her hand began to hover over my chest, moving slowly around each wound, strange and foreign words slowly whispering from her mouth. Her hand as it moved around my body felt cold. An icy chill ran up my spine and I felt it settle around my heart. Strangely I felt no pain with it, it felt... comforting in a mysterious way, like the feeling of the sea breeze brushing against your face on a stifling hot day. I closed my eyes as she worked, the interesting words still pouring from her lips effortlessly, until eventually any feeling of pain I had had before was almost completely gone. I felt more relaxed then I had been in years and I felt a smile of contentedness slip to my features. As I lay there, in a contented state I heard her move and lean her mouth to my ear in a whisper.

"This will hurt" her whisper seemed as dark as her eyes "But this should help ease some". Her accent rung in my ears for a moment despite her voice having only been a soft whisper and as I heard her shift I wondered exactly what she meant. I barely felt her lift my stump and remove the bandages before pressing something warm against it and I opened my eyes in curiosity. She had pressed the strange mound onto my stump and my eyes widened as I saw it move and wrap around the bone that was still visible. I turned to her in shock, about to ask in outrage what she was doing but before I could even form a word. The pain began. I cried out and stared at the strange mound as it burrowed through the inside of the bone, spreading out and coating the stump, attaching to my skin, twisting and pulling. It felt like fire, burning and searing as it attached, slowly becoming part of me. I could hardly bare it, I thrashed and screamed, ripping apart the bed beneath me and throwing my head back in roars of pain and agony.

'_Make it stop!_' I cried in my mind as I threw my head side to side, my thrashing causing me to break one of the bedposts '_Just make it stop!_'. I tried to keep my eyes open but the pain proved too much for me to complete such a simple task and all I could do was scream, unsure of what the mound was doing now. Perhaps it had bore into the bone and was now moving to hollow out all the others or maybe it was spreading over the outside of my body, ready to suffocate me in a hard shell. Perhaps it was both. But my mind could not register anything but pain and so I continued to scream, helpless and... _vulnerable_.


End file.
